Fragile Hearts, Bruised Stones
by OneHundredPercentSin
Summary: Millie once lived in the real world. But after making an odd wish, she finds herself with no memory of her old life and lives with Sophie in the world of Howl's Moving Castle. But when the Witch of the Waste turns her into a small living porcelain doll with no ability to speak, she can't exactly live normally like she wants. How is she supposed to turn back into a human..?
1. Wishes Have Been Made

-1-

For once in all of my life, I wanted to disappear. I didn't want to be here.. To exist in this place and listen to consistent yelling and fighting.

My eyes watered over some as I heard my mother scream at the top of her lungs at her husband, my step father. I didn't understand why my mother married him, not when she seemed so happy when it was only me and her.

I refused to listen to them again and tried drowning them out. My fingers wrapped around a stone on the necklace hanfing over my chest.

My thoughts quickly turned to it and I looked down at it, frowning slightly.

It was a gift from my grandmother, whom had passed away some years ago. She was such a sweet woman.. I had lived with her most of my life till her passing and she had given the necklace on one of my birthdays...

I closed my eyes and took a breath, remembering that day very clearly.

 _"Now, Millie, I know soon I'll be gone and you may feel scared and alone again. But if there ever is a day you feel so alone you can't take it anymore, make sure you hold the stone close to your heart and make a wish." My grandma told me in a hushed whisper, hearing my parents fighting in the next room. Her face turned sour as the volume grew._

 _"Goodness.. Even on your birthday.." She grumbled angrily. "I never approved of that woman.."_

 _Her eyes suddenly lit up again and she handed me another gift as I fixed the necklace a few times. "We'll just have our own fun without them, won't we Millie?" She asked, watching my face light up as I unwrapped the movie and stared at the title._

 _"Now, let's drown out their fighting with this, okay?"_

My eyes fell onto the stack of movies I had collected since then, spotting the one specific title. My favorite film..

I walked over on my knees and pulled it out of the stack, brushing my fingers over the cover.

 **HOWL'S MOVING CASLTE**

I let out a tiny breath, trying to calm down as I moved to my TV and DVD player, placing the movie inside and turning the volume up enough to drown out everything else in the world.

I tensed up as I heard a loud crash come from downstairs just before the movie started and decided to turn the volume up further, just to be sure. "Drown out their fighting..." I said to myself over and over again.

A smiled couldn't help but appear over my lips, hurrying to the door and locking it so noone could bother me, my feet leading me to my desk to pick up some pencils and my drawing book.

I moved back to my TV and plopped myself down in front.

I was evenutally interested enough to begin drawing in my sketch book. I loved drawing the characters from these movies and sometimes inserting myself sometimes. Today I felt like drawing myself in clothes similar to Sophie sitting on a hill filled with flowers, the same field Howl gave to Sophie as a gift. Oh I desperately wanted to see that place in person.

I smiled down at the sketch, a sense of relief falling over me. Like I would get to live this vision of mine. I would love that..

To live with Sophie and Howl and Markl and Calcifer...

I leaned back some, closing my eye momentarily, letting myself imagine it. Maybe I could change places with Sophie, or at least stand beside her, and be given that flower field.

"That would be wonderful.." I whispered.

I suddenly heard someone banging on my door and tensed up, a huge wave of terror and panic falling back over my mind.

"Millie, you better open up this door right now!" I heard the man my mother married after my biological father's death..

"Leave her alone!" My mother shouted, "You the reason she has the volume up so high so just leave her be!"

Her yelling caused the man to stomp back downstairs. I, instinctively, turned down the volume, my eyes going to the movie just at the moment Sophie had met Calcifer for the first time.

"She's too god damned spoiled by you, woman! She needs to be taught some serious respect and understanding! She cannot just go about doing whatever she wants just because her poor father and grandmother fucking died! She needs to just get over it!"

I gripped the stone that hung from my necklace, thinking of my grandmother's words. If I held it over my heart and made a wish.. All the bad things would go away.. But I didn't want the bad things to go away..! I didn't want to be here!

"I-I..." I stuttered, my voice breaking as my mother screamed following a loud, harsh smack and then quick footsteps coming back upstairs to my room.

"I-I want... Howl... I wish..." I struggled to find the words I needed.

I didn't noticed the light from the stone nor the static from the TV, my mind just filled with fear as I stared at the door.

The banging started up again against my door, my step-father yelling at me to let him inside. Threats against me and my movies soon followed.

His words causd me to panic enough to get the words out.

"I wish Howl would save me..!" I gasped, hearing glass shatter behind me. Before I could look back, a light floating sensation forming around my body. I shut my eyes tightly, kinda scared something happened to me.

The pounding stopped as my door eventually was broken down. But nothing happened. I couldn't even hear anything.

I opened my eyes a tiny bit, my mind becoming incredibly hazy as I looked up, someone standing in front of me between my step-father and me.

"Don't worry, darling, I'm here." The person whispered, their voice being soft and smooth.

I felt myself be picked up into their arms, darkness filling my vision. Then there was nothing.

 _"Grandma, do you think I could use my wish to travel wherever I wanted..? What if I could go into another world?" I asked, keeping my eyes ahead of me and she braided my hair._

 _"Hmm... Maybe, I've never heard of anyone doing something like that.. Maybe if your wish was strong enough? I'm sure you could do all sorts of things if your intent is good, I'm sure you can. But you first have to believe you have magical ability." She replied, sounding very genuine._

 _"Do you think I could do things like Howl or Markl?!" I gasped, very excited to hear about a magical ability I could have._

 _I heard her chuckle some behind me and shrugged a tiny bit. "Maybe. But only as long as your magic is filled with love. Good feelings. Nothing bad like hatred or anger. Or greed or jealousy. Those will make your magic bad and hurt you in the end... Like the Witch of the Waste." She said, "And you don't wanna look like her, right?"_

 _"Ew!" I giggled, "No! I'll make sure I stay happy to keep my magic good then!" I smiled, playing with my necklace. I grew silent and frowned some after a few seconds._

 _"Could I use my wish to bring you back after you're gone? I'm gonna miss you..."_

 _She stopped braiding my hair, a little surprised by my question. I turned around and looked at her, watching her face._

 _"No, dear... I'm afraid you cannot. Once I go, I must stay gone. I'll see you again, I promise, you just have to be very patient. It'll feel like a long time, hun, but believe me when I say you will see me again." She breathed._

 _I was quiet once more, slowly nodding, "Okay.." I took a moment before looking back up to her, "Can... We watch the movie again? One more time before you go."_

 _I knew her time was running out, I could feel it. I didn't want to lose her now, but if she was okay with it, I was too. Even if I simply thought she was going to leave off to some other home or hospital far away from us._

 _"Of course, child. It's over there. Let me get comfortable." She pointed to a small DVD pile next to her TV, sitting back some in her bed._

 _I nodded and hurried over to the stack, finding our movie and putting it into the hospital's DVD player and put the disk inside. I quickly returned to my grandmother's bed and sat next to her, leaning against her some._

 _Some time after the movie began I felt my grandma gently place her hand over mine, a long, soft breath leaving her body._

 _I looked up at her and saw that her eyes were closed._

 _"Grandma..?"_

 _Her chest wasn't moving anymore.._

I watched myself in the mirror, a curious look on my face as I looked myself over.

I was never one to dress up, but I missed Lettie and Sophie had told me we would be visiting her today. She was so kind to me all the time. They both were the first few months I lived here here, both treating me like another sister.

It's been years now and I still had no clue how I got here.. Nor who I was beyond that my name was Millie and that the necklace I constantly cherished was a gift from my grandmother. And a vague paranoia of someone I couldn't visualize..

I enjoyed being here, anyways. It was nice helping Sophie in her little hat shop and drawing ideas for hats for her.

I picked up my bag, checking inside for my drawing book and pencils. I quickly found themnd some other items and smiled. I pulled out the book and flipped the pages. There were some missing, but not many. There were quite a few with me and Sophie smiling and laughing and then tons of sketches of hats. Ine page had an elder woman who was labeled as my grandmother.

I lovingly stared at the page and sighed some, my hand hovering over the page. "I miss you, Grandma.." I whispered.

"You're bringing your drawing book? Are you going to show Lettie your new hat designs?" Sophie asked, suddenly next to me.

I jumped slightly and closed my book. "O-oh! Yes, the hats. I wanted to see if there were any she would enjoy."

"I'm sure she'll like at least one of them. Come on, we're going now, Millie."

"Right."


	2. Is This Really What I Want?

I stayed close to Sophie as we made our way down the alleyway, my hands hovering over my chest as I stared at the bottom of Sophie's dress.

Seemingly scripted in a particular way, Sophie bumped into a tall blonde soldier.

He smiled down at us, his hand in his hand as he leaned against the wall next to him. "Hey, looks like two little mice lost their way." He stated, leaning down towards us some, staring at me and my friend.

"Oh, no, we're not lost." Sophie told him, shaking her head. She could sense my discomfort from the tall male and wanted to hurry on.

We tried to move past him but he moved with us to keep us blocked.

I took a hold of Sophie's sleeve and let out a tiny whimper only she would be able to hear, causing her to become frustrated with him. But she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"These mice look thirsty. We should take them for a drink." He said as another man stepped out with a large bushy mustache.

I moved behind Sophie as he tried to get a look at my face.

"Our sister is expecting us, we really must go." Sophie stated, looking away out of nervousness. She only half lied, but it was still getting to her as well.

"Their pretty cute for mice." The mustached man commented, snickering some.

I kept behind Sophie, holding her close to me as they moved closer once again, "How old are you two anyway? You live around here?" The blonde asked.

"Leave us alone." Sophie tried to keep her voice firm as she spoke again.

"You see? Your mustache scares all the girls." The blonde mocked his friend, ignoring Sophie's words.

"So? I think they look cuter when their scared." The blonde's friend replied.

Sophie was beginning to get more and more annoyed but also kinda scared. She just wanted to get to Lettie's with me safely but this was a lot more difficult than we thought.

"There you are, sweetheart. Sorry I'm late." I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder as whoever it was spoke to me, "I've been looking everywhere for you and your friend."

I tensed up some before relaxing again. For some reason I didn't have a sense of danger or anything. I felt a sense of relief that this person was here. I trusted this new man for some reason.

"Hey, we're busy here." The first soldier snapped as the second straightened up.

"Are you really? It looked to me like the two of you were just leaving." The man spoke, his grin audible in his voice.

I looked up some as the man flicked his wrist and the two soldiers stood at attention, both of them incredibly surprised and confused. With another flick they were marching off in sync. I let out a small breath as they exited behind us.

I looked up at our 'savior's' face, a little flush falling over my cheeks. He was handsome... His golden hair and beautiful sapphire blue eyes.. But something was wrong.. They had this empty look that made him look much less human. It was like something was vacant...

"Don't hold it against them. They're actually not all that bad." He spoke with a charming smile. My cheeks flushed slightly because his eyes were on me. I had to look away I was so flustered.

I heard his chest rumble with a soft chuckle, feeling a bit more flushed as he held me a tiny bit closer to him. It... Felt like he wanted to protect me..

My chest tightened some as a phrase came to mind...

 _"Don't worry, darling, I'm here."_

I knew no one said that now, but it felt like someone had.. I couldn't place who though..

I sorta relaxed even more after remembering that phrase. I was still in thought and barely caught Sophie answer a question of his.

"We're, um.. Just going to the bakery." She told him, seeing as I was so quiet.

"Don't be alarmed, but I'm being followed. Act normal." He told us, offering Sophie his arm and keeping me close to his side.

Sophie glanced at me again as my cheeks continued to burn. I noticed and offered her a little smile, then looked up at the man with us. He was still smiling.

He quickly took notice of my staring and looked down at me, his smiling seeming to grow some. I quickly looked away, biting my lip a little bit.

After a few seconds I began hearing odd sounds coming from behind us. I slowly turned around, spotting obsidian black slimy creatures following us.

The man was oddly calm as we continued walking, "Sorry. Looks like you two are involved." He apologized.

The creatures appeared in front of us and he quickly turned a corner. "This way!" He told us, quickening his pace a tiny bit.

Me and Sophie had a bit of a hard time keeping up with him, stumbling over our own feet.

More creatures blocked our path as we walked down the alley. The man moved his hand from my shoulder to my waist, then grabbed Sophie by hers and suddenly we were above the roofs of the buildings and away from the slime men.

My eyes widened some and I stared down in fear, my hands gripping my bag tightly.

"Now just straighten your legs and start walking." He instructed us, doing what he said to show us.

I hesitated, still very fearful, but after seeing Sophie do it, I did as well. I let out a tiny, nervous laugh.

"See? Not so hard, is it?" He asked.

My bright purple orbs stared below us, then ahead as I kept moving my feet to seem like I was walking on air. It was honestly amazing to see so many people below me.

"You're a natural."

I blinked a few times and glanced up at him, seeing that he was talking to me.

This somehow felt wrong..

We soon reached the balcony for the bakery and were set down on the wood floor again. "I'll make sure to draw them off." The man told us, looking between me and Sophie. He let go of Sophie's hand, but kept mine.

His eyes were on mine, an odd look coming to the blue orbs. I felt his thumb rub over the back of my hand as he smiled down at me. "Wait a bit before you head back outside." He told us, glancing to Sophie to be sure she understood.

She slowly nodded, "Kay.."

He looked back at me, chuckling as my cheeks flushed. I nodded a tiny bit, hesitantly pulling my hand away.

"That's my girl.." He murmured, before standing up straight and flew back, then suddenly dropped to the crowd below.

Sophie gasped and rushed forwards, looking over the railing to the crowd, but spotted nothing.

I just stood there, staring at nothing..

What just happened?

* * *

"Sophie! Millie!" Lettie called, running up to the both of us and grabbing our hands.

"Lettie." Both me and Sophie greeted her.

"What's going on? Someone just told me that you just floated down onto our balcony." The blonde stated, clearly worried.

"So that did happen…" Sophie murmured, looking back out the window. I hummed a little bit, staring out off at nothing, "It wasn't a dream.." I breathed.

A man leaned out from behind a wall some feet away from us, smiling to Lettie. "Lettie! Would you like to use my office?" He asked, clearly enchanted by the beautiful blonde.

"I really should get back to work. Thank you though." Lettie declined with an apologetic smile, waving a little bit.

Lettie held mine and Sophie's hands as she led us back down and to behind the kitchen where we sat on some crates.

Sophie explained what had happened to us, since I seemed too flushed over it. I focused on my sketch book, at one of my drawings of Lettie and Sophie. It helped me calm down when I looked at them..

"He especially looked smitten with Millie.." Sophie sighed, causing Lettie to look at me.

"I doubt it.." I murmured, keeping my eyes off the two.

"He must have been a wizard then." Lettie commented.

I thought about her words, along with what had happened.

"But he was so kind to us. He rescued us, Lettie." Sophie told us, looking off a little bit.

"Of course he did! He was trying to steal your hearts! You are so lucky, you two. If that Wizard were Howl, he would have eaten them."

"No he wouldn't." I replied, leaning back some and looking up at the ceiling, "At least not mine... Howl only does that to beautiful girls.."

Lettie scoffed and nudged me some. "Don't give me that, Millie. You two need to be more careful. It's dangerous out there! Even the Witch of the Waste is back on the prowl.."

I had a vacant look in my eyes, not even hearing her.

"Are you listening?" She asked Sophie, then looking at me, "Not you too.."

A crate behind Lettie was pulled away and a man popped his head out to look at Lettie. "Lettie, the chocolate eclairs are done." He told her.

The blonde looked back at him and nodded a tiny bit, "Kay, I'll be right there."

The man smiled back to her, "Thanks." He went back to the kitchen and placed the crate back.

"Alright, we better get going then." Sophie said as she stood up. I looked at her and nodded, hopping off the crate I sat on, Lettie following our lead.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay." She told her sister.

The three of us started leaving through the back door, Lettie greeting a man carrying a bag of flour over his shoulder as he walked inside.

"Now Sophie, do you really want to spent your life in that hat shop?" She asked seriously.

"The shop was just so important to father. And I'm the eldest so I don't mind." Sophie replied with a small smile.

Lettie shook her head, "I'm not asking what father would've wanted. I want to know what you want."

"I want a pretty dress…" I murmured sarcastically, earning a soft chuckle from both the girls.

Lettie stared at Sophie for an answer. "Well..." The brunette started but was cut off by a delivery man.

"We'd better be going." Sophie said after Lettie and the man exchanged farewells.

"It's your life, Sophie. Do something for yourself for once, will you!" Lettie exclaimed.

"Bye, Lettie." Sophie called back.

I let out a tiny sigh and shook my head, looking at Lettie and smiling some to her. "Give her some time, Lettie."

"I don't know Millie, she's just.. I wish she would do things for herself instead of others sometimes." She replied before giving me a stern look, "You too. Do something for yourself!"

"I'll try, Lettie." I nervously replied before hurrying off after Sophie.

I slowed down some as I caught up with Sophie. "I know you love the hat shop, Sophie. I'll help you run it for as long as I can." I told her.

She looked at me and gave me a soft smile, "But what about you? Don't you want to do something better with your life?" She asked.

"Mmm... Maybe someday, but for right now, 'something better' is being happy and working alongside my best friend." I told her, "You've helped me so much when I really needed it, so I'm just going to make sure to repay the favour."

"Millie.. I'm happy to hear that.." She breathed, looking ahead as we walked back home.

It was getting kinda late and we needed to be sure the shop was closed up.


	3. A Serious Change

Besides the short conversation between me and Sophie, the time spent heading back to the shop was quiet. We just spent the time thinking about what Lettie had said to us and about the man that had 'rescued' us. I felt a little fluttery feeling in my stomach when I thought about him. Like I knew him as much more than just a 'saviour kind wizard'.

Me and Sophie arrived back home and she opened the door for me, allowing me inside before her and making sure to lock the door.

I let out a tiny yawn and moved my head back and forth, before remembering my sketch book. "Aw..." I breathed, looking at Sophie with a sad expression, "I forgot to show Lettie my designs..." I spoke.

She let out a little laugh and placed her hat down on the front desk, lighting one of the lanterns. "I'm sure you'll be able to show her next time. You could always go back tomorrow, you know."

"Yeah but I might run into people like those soldiers again.." I murmured, walking to the doorway leading to the workrooms and our bedrooms, "I'm at least going to-..."

The sound of the door bells chiming made me freeze, both me and Sophie turning around to look at the door.

There was a rather large woman there, looking around our shop. She just kinda... Loomed around till Sophie spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but the shop's closed now, ma'am." She apologized, visibly confused.

For some reason I was scared and had an awful feeling in my gut... Something didn't feel right.. I brushed my fingers over the stone that hung over my chest, getting the idea we shouldn't make this woman mad.

"I could have sworn I locked that door.. Must have forgotten.." Sophie murmured, clasping her hands in front of her. I opened my mouth to warn my friend, but found a sudden inability to speak was causing me not to.

I could not utter a word. Even if I had the courage to.. Something was forcing me to stay quiet and let this run its course. This had to happen..

There was a cold feeling shooting throughout my body as the large woman looked over at me, her eyes narrowing some.

I quickly moved to Sophie and stood with her, wanting to at least protect her some.

"What a tacky shop. I've never seen such tacky little hats." She commented, beginning to walk over towards us. I swallowed down my nervousness and just kept my eyes on her as she slowly turned her attention to us. "Yet by far, you're the tackiest things here."

Oh that was kinda uncalled for..

My friend frowned as she stood up for me and her. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave now." She said firmly, walking away from me and past the woman.

She opened the door and gestured for the unwelcomed guest to leave, "The door is over here, ma'am. We're closed."

The woman smirked as she gave Sophie an amused look, "Standing up to the Witch of the Waste.. That's plucky." She smirked.

"The Witch of the Waste?!" Sophie gasped, then again as the witch's henchmen appeared in the doorway.

Before I could move, the witch became transparent and flew through the brunette, my friend covering her face to protect herself. "The best part about that spell is that you can't tell anyone about it." The Witch stated from the doorway.

"Sophie!" I gasped, rushing past the desk to my friend, but there was a burst of wind that pushed me back and into the front of the desk, causing me to collapse to my bottom.

"Hm.." The Witch of the Waste chuckled, giving me a look as my face contorted into an expression filled with pure agony, "You're quite the powerful one, aren't you? Just in case you find help, I'm going to be sure you can't say anything either. Don't want you speaking out, do we?" She smirked as she began to close the door behind her.

"Send my regards to Howl." She finally left, letting the door slam closed.

I couldn't get up, no matter how much I wanted to move. The pain shooting through my body was too much.. It was horrible...!

I gasped, doubling over as I felt like everything was becoming stiff and cold. It felt like shards of glass were piercing my skin and moving through it all.

Like my bones were shrinking and breaking.

"So... Soph...ie..." I gasped quietly, focusing on her. I had to be sure she was okay.. I wanted to tell her something was wrong. She needed to know what I wanted to say.

The pain was too much and my mind went blank. The last thing I saw was Sophie moving and looking around. She hadn't seen me just yet..

* * *

 _"You know that's not funny Millie!" Sophie scolded me as I seemed to mock her. She was always so serious about this hat shop job of hers._

 _"Oh, come on Sophie! Let's go out and have fun! Maybe we could visit Lettie and go have a picnic!" I told her, basically begging her._

 _She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Millie, no. I've told you. I'm far too busy with my father's business and I want to be sure the hat's are being made."_

 _I groaned a bit, letting my head fall forwards. "Fiiiiine! I just want to do something besides sit in the workroom making these tacky little hats!" I spoke without thinking._

 _I saw her flinch some, her face dropping._

 _"Sophie I.. That's not what I mean. I just..."_

 _"It's fine, Mil... Go ahead and go out. Have fun with Lettie. I know you don't like being stuck here."_

 _"Soph.. I'm sorry.. I just.." I breathed, taking her hands in mine. "Look, I just don't want the both of us to be stuck here forever, you know? I want to be sure we have fun just as much as we work." I told her, "How about this, I'll draw designs for the hats and you make them. And then every so often, we go out. At least to the courtyard and just have a picnic. That way you don't have... erm.. 'Tacky' hats and we can both relax." I offered._

 _She rolled her eyes and looked at me, "That sounds more like it's a win-win for you."_

 _"Well... Maybe.. but maybe you'll be inspired by my designs and make an especially cute, tacky hat!" I joked, making her laugh a bit._

 _"Fine." She gave in, grasping my hands. "But let me get back to work. And put away my hat."_

 _"Fine! Fine."_

* * *

"M-Millie? Where are you?"

I looked around for the girl I called my friend. Her clothes were sprawled across the floor in front of the counter, but she wasn't in them. At least not that I could see.

I was already having a hard time dealing with my... Change in appearance. I didn't want my friend to be missing..! She was the only one who could actually help me!

I slowly looked around the room, pacing around some.

As I moved, my foot came into contact with something on the floor under Millie's clothes. It was small and hard enough for me to notice.

I looked down and saw the dress begin to move, a soft clattering sound coming from underneath.

I leaned over a bit and reached down, slowly lifting up the skirt of the dress to find the familiar face of my friend looking up at me with sad eyes.

My eyes widened and I let out a loud gasp, covering my mouth with my hands. "M-Millie!" I gasped, watching her tiny body crawl out from under the dress and pick herself up.

She was barely the height of my leg as she looked up at me. Both of us were beyond shocked at what we saw in front of us.

My friend was a tiny, naked, porcelain doll.

And I was a short wrinkled old woman.

She opened her mouth to say something but nothing was coming out. It was like she didn't have a voice anymore.

 _'Sophie! What happened to you!?'_

She didn't say anything, I knew that, but I could still hear her voice.. It wasn't coming from her, but in my head.

We were both shocked at that and she tried again.

 _'Did... Did I just...?'_

I slowly nodded my head.

"Millie, we need to stay calm..."

 _'Sophie...! I'm scared!'_

"Come on, Mil... We need to go and figure this all out.. I'll grab your things.." I murmured, watching her nod and hurry behind the counter and through the door.

She was going to head up to our room to hide for the time being.. And maybe find herself some fitting clothing. Good thing all her... 'lady' traits were smoothed over to just be like a doll.

I slowly picked up her clothes, hat and bag and followed behind her.

Admittedly, even if this new situation was horrible, I was kinda amused by her tiny feet clacking on the floor. I would need to be extremely careful with her now. I needed to take care of her. She was made of glass and if she broke..

I couldn't think about that..

* * *

I sat with Sophie on her bed, fixing the small dress she had been able to fashion up for me. We both knew we couldn't stay here any longer, but we couldn't just leave. We needed the perfect moment.

That came when Sophie's mother decided to visit the shop and came up to our bedroom, knocking on our door.

"Sophie? Millie?" She called, knocking on the door a few times before trying the handle.

"Don't come in here. We've got a bad cold. We don't want you to catch it." Sophie called back.

"You sound ghastly.. Like some ninety-year-old woman." She replied.

'You have no idea, Ms. Hatter...' I thought to myself, looking up at Sophie, 'You really have no idea..'

"Millie's in there as well?"

"Yeah.. She's got it worse, her voice is gone." Sophie lied, looking down at me.

"We just want to stay in bed all day, so you go on..." She added, taking me into her arms and allowing me to climb into the bag that was originally my own.

"Well.." Her mother started reluctantly, "If you insist.."

We both waited till her footsteps faded away down the hall before Sophie forced herself to stand up.

"Up we go.." She mumbled, walking over to her small mirror and looking at herself again.

"This isn't so bad, now, is it? You're still in pretty good shape and your clothes finally suit you." Sophie spoke, smiling at her reflection.

I shook my head some, a non-existent sigh escaping me. At least she was positive about this..

 _'And hey, I finally got my pretty dress!'_ I commented to her.

She smiled down at me and snickered some. "Exactly."

We both looked towards the door as some worker girls started laughing from downstairs.

"But we can't stay here like this for long, can we..?" She asked me. I shook my head.

She found her shawl and picked up her hat, putting them both on and started out of the room, still carrying the bag that held me inside.

She tried to stand up straight but her back let out a cringe-worthy crack we both kinda agreed she shouldn't try doing that again.

She grumbled to herself about being old as she walked downstairs and to the kitchen. There she found some bread and cheese and some other food items and wrapped them together in some spare fabric she had and placed it next to my little body.

She left the building out the side door and I caught the topic of some chatter from men down the alley.

It was about a missing prince and that we were being blamed for it or something.. How dreadful... It even sounded like a war would start over it. That... felt right.. In a horrible way. Like it was meant to be that way..

I had to pretend to be a simple doll gift for Sophie's 'granddaughter' as we walked through the town to leave.

We passed over a bridge where a train went by and nearly caused Sophie to cough up a lung as the smoke enveloped us. I didn't have the need to breath anymore, so I was completely fine, though it did somehow feel a little too hot for my comfort. There was at least a kind man who offered her some help, but she kindly declined, musing to herself over how nice he was.

And then she had asked a few farmer men if she could ride with them. They told her that they had enough room in the back but were curious as to where we were going.

Sophie just gave the simple reply of "Just a little ways farther than where you're going," before getting on the cart in the back, keeping me and the bag in her lap.

 _'Sophie, where are we going?'_ I asked her, glancing up to her with a curious look.

"To find that witch. She can hopefully turn us back to normal.. Or at least someplace where I don't have to worry about anyone finding me like this. I don't want to be a bother. And you might freak someone out."

 _'Ah... Good point..'_ I nodded, looking back at the town as we left it.

Some time later we were at the border and she was walking towards the Wastes.

"You're crazy if you do this, grandma! There's nothin' but witches and wizards out there!" A man shouted to us from his house.

Sophie simply thanked him and made a note of it, although she already knew this.

I looked back and watched as a woman walked out of her home and looked at him.

"She's going to the Waste's by herself?" The woman asked.

The man gave a shrug and turned to her, "Say's she's going to visit her granddaughter." He replied.

As we were far enough, Sophie allowed me out of the bag, keeping her eyes on me as I, oddly gracefully, began climbing up the mountain side with her.

She eventually needed a break and we found a place to sit and allow her to eat the food she had brought with her. I sat next to her, swinging my legs some.

I was small enough to do so if I sat on a large enough rock. Being porcelain had a few good points. I didn't need to eat and I wasn't getting tired at all. I just needed to worry about getting my feet stuck or tripping.

Sophie grumbled to herself about her old legs and how we've barely moved.

"At least my teeth haven't fallen out yet.." She mumbled, looking around her some, her eyes widening some. She put her food down and pushed herself up to her feet. "That would make a nice cane." She said, mostly to herself.

 _'Be careful Sophie. It looks like it's stuck.'_

She waved me off some and made her way to a bush, a bare stick sticking out. She grabbed ahold of it and pulled on it a few times.

I got to my feet, watching her try to force it out. I started to put her leftover food away and picked it up, placing it back inside the bag she brought.

As I looked inside, I noticed something I hadn't before. Sophie kept my sketch book in the bag..

 _'Sophie..'_ My thoughts were only a whisper.

"What was that Millie?" She called back as she finally pulled the stick up and out of the bush.

"Oh.." She breathed, looking up at the scarecrow. She was startled at first, but then realized what it was and let out a relieved sigh, "Just a scarecrow. I was afraid you were one of those blob men." She said, speaking to the inanimate object.

I had a little trouble walking over with the bag, it being a bit too heavy for my little arms. As I walked over, Sophie made a comment about it's head and how she wondered how it could stand on its own.

Now named 'Turnip Head', the scarecrow's smile seemed to grow as it stared down at us. I wanted to feel scared, but he had a gentle aura about him.. He didn't feel evil.

I smiled in response and gave a tiny curtsy to him, following after Sophie as she picked up the bag and started off again.

 _'He seemed like a nice turnip scarecrow'_ I commented to Sophie.

She gave a soft chuckle and shook her head, "Maybe he was cursed like us."

 _'Yeah... Maybe..'_


	4. Turnip Head, Calcifer, Grandma?

Sophie shuddered some as a gust of cold wind blew past us. It was a little too cold for her up here. I had to go back into the bag, the both of us having a feeling the wind was also a little too strong for me to stay walking on my own. We figured I'd probably be blown back and fall.

"It's too cold.. And I can see the town, we've barely moved." She grumbled, before taking notice to something behind us.

 _'It's Turnip Head!'_ I gasped, a little smile on my lips.

Sophie, though, was not so interested in the scarecrow. "Go away! Quit following us! There's no need to thank us, you don't owe us a thing." She shooed him. But much to her dismay, he just came closer, stopping a few feet away.

"I'm sure you have some kind of spell on you, and we've had more than enough of wizards and witches." Sophie tried to get him to leave and he just stared at her as she spoke, "So just go find a field and stand in it!" She told him, starting off again.

I felt bad and tried to keep my eyes on him, watching as he hesitated a second before following us again.

 _'He's still following us.'_ I told her.

Sophie let out a groan and stopped as he caught up. To her surprise, he dropped a cane with a pretty bird handle.

She stared at it for a second before taking a hold of it and moving it some, tapping it on the ground.

"Thank you, this cane is perfect. It's just what I need." She then got a certain look in her eyes as she continued, "If you'd like to do us a favor, you could run off and find us a place to stay." She told him.

Turnip Head understood what she was saying and turned around, hopping off again.

Sophie chuckled a little bit as she waved to him. She began walking again, "I seem to have become quite cunning in my old age." She commented to herself.

I shook my head and let out a silent sigh, deciding against making a comment.

It was getting darker the more we made our way up the hill. "Why do you get so cold when you're old?" She asked, pulling at her shawl to wrap it around her body, "I'm fatter than ever, yet the wind blows right through me." She complained.

 _'Well.. At least your not a silent doll.'_ I pointed out sarcastically.

She let out a soft chuckle and nodded some, "Good point."

She started sniffing the air and got a bright look on her face, "Someone's got a fire going. Maybe there's a cabin nearby." She commented.

I gave and shrug and got comfortable, ready to pretend to be a lifeless doll again.

She had to stop when a enormous moving metal 'castle' started approaching us, Turnip Head leading it to us. Sophie.

"You turnip-head! That's Howl's castle! That is not what I meant when I asked for a place to stay!" She yelled at him, staring in shock.

The castle slowed down above us, coming to a stop. Steam hissed out of the top and it seemed to relax some, seemingly waiting for us.

"Look at that. They call this a castle?" She grumbled, a little unimpressed.

The castle must have heard her somehow and understood her words enough cause it stood back up and started to move again, Turnip Head hopping after it to show us the door, turning around to look back at us.

 _'That must be the way inside'_

Sophie started running after it, realizing the same thing as me. She was able to get close enough to place me and the bag down on the tiny platform, trying to climb up onto it herself.

I had a feeling I needed to move and did so, grabbing the metal bars on the railing and held on tightly, watching Sophie with worried eyes.

"Slow down! For Heaven's sake! Make up your mind! Are you gonna let me in or not?" She asked, managing to grab the bar. The castle then scooped her up so she could climb up, but her shawl came untied and flew away from us. She gasped and tried to grab it back after getting her feet on the platform but it was much too far by then.

She took a moment to stare after if and Turnip Head as he went after it for her, before turning back round and cracking open the door. Sophie allowed me to go inside and looked back towards where Turnip Head had gone, seeing him coming back with her Shawl.

I didn't hear her as I stood in the middle of a filthy room in the castle. It was.. Kinda disappointing that the 'Great Wizard Howl' has such a dirty castle. I allowed myself to relax though and walked over to a chair in front of a small fire, pulling myself up and onto it.

Goodness this was a weak flame.. I could barely feel the heat on my hands as I reached forwards towards it.

The wood beneath the fire cracked, causing me to jump a little bit and pull my hands back.

My attention was moved to Sophie as she closed the door behind her and walked up the small flight of stairs and looked around some. "What a dump. When I think castle , this is not what I would picture." She narrowed her eyes some, still very unimpressed. So many cobwebs and dust and little insects scurrying around. "Well, one nice thing about getting old is nothing frightens you."

She walked over to the chair and set her thing down, gently picking me up into her arms and sitting back down, figuring out that the fire in front of her was much to small for her liking.

She stood up, still holding me close in her arm, and fed the fire a bit more wood to get it growing again. She sat down once more and placed me in her lap, leaning back some.

Eyes appeared in the fire, it looking up at us. He scanned me and Sophie over some before speaking, surprising us both. "I don't envy you, lady. That is one bad curse. Same with your doll friend there. Those are some serious magic. Curses are tough. You're gonna have a hard time getting rid of those ones." He said, sounding both sympathetic and impressed.

His eyes stayed on me, then going to the stone on the, now very small, necklace. "Hm.." He hummed.

"The fire spoke!" Sophie exclaimed, very shocked. I was just.. In awe that it was speaking.

"Let me guess, you curse won't allow you to talk about it and she can't speak at all, right?" He asked.

Me and Sophie had two different responses. I nodded while Sophie tried asking; "Are you Howl?"

 _'Sophie, I don't really think Howl is a fire. I think this is a demon of some kind.'_ I commented to her.

"She's right." He spoke, shocking me now. I thought only Sophie could hear my thoughts.. He continued, "I'm an extremely powerful fire demon named Calcifer." He introduced, fire flaring from his more, "I just like to do that once in awhile."

I had to try again with speaking to him, _'Very cool.'_ Was all I could get myself to tell him. He seemed a little flattered and smiled at me.

"A fire demon. Well, then you should be able to break our curse." Sophie said, her face lighting up with hope.

"Maybe, maybe not." He said, "Listen, if either of you can find a way to break the spell that's on me, then I'll break the spells on you two, got it?"

"If you're a demon, how do we know we can trust you?" Sophie asked, very suspicious of him, "You promise to help us if we help you?"

I kept looking back and forth between the two, keeping myself silent. Oddly, I was beginning to feel tired. I guess a few of my human needs were still there...

"I don't know, lady. Demons don't make promises."

Sophie leaned back in her chair again, sinking lower this time and just stared at him, her hope beginning to die. "Then go find someone else." She replied.

"Come on! You should feel sorry for me!" Calcifer clasped his little fiery hands together, "That spell keeps me stuck in this castle and Howl treats me like I'm his slave. It burns me up. You've got to keep the water hot, the rooms warm, keep the castle moving." He ranted.

I took notice to my friend's mumbling, "Oh that's rough.." She was beginning to doze off.

Calcifer also took notice and tried again, "Come on. You ever tries to move a castle? If one of you can figure out how to break this thing I'm in with Howl, then you can break my spell. After that I can easily break the spells on you!"

Sophie was practically asleep as she nodded, "Alright, it's a deal." She told him, her eyes closing and she was asleep, little snores escaping her.

"Hey, lady? Lady? Hello? Lady? Hello?" He tried to wake her back up, "Hey, hey, hey! Lady? Lady? Let me get over there..." He tried to crawl towards us, making me giggle silently.

"Some help you're gonna be." He grumbled.

 _'She's tired, Mr. Calcifer._ ' I told him, causing him to look down at me.

He let out an annoyed sigh and went back to his normal position. "Can you at least tell me you names?" He asked.

 _'I'm Millie, and she's my best friend, Sophie.'_ I replied, _'The Witch of the Waste did this too us...'_

"Ah, yes. Her. That does make sense." He nodded.

 _'How come you can hear me?'_ I asked.

"You... Don't know..?" He asked, to which I shook my head. He didn't answer my question, though. He just hummed again, his eyes falling to the stone for a moment again.

 _'I.. I'm tired...'_ I suddenly yawned silently, getting comfortable in Sophie's lap, closing my eyes.

"Alright.. Get some sleep then, Millie." He told me in a soft tone. It was comforting..

I closed my eyes and dozed off.

* * *

 _"Grandma..!?" I asked, running over to the familiar face of my grandmother._

 _She smiled down at me and put her arms out, pulling me into a hug. "My darling, Millie. It's been so long. Look how much you've grown..!" She cooed, pulling back to look at my face._

 _"You've grown into such a beautiful young woman. And I see you've used your wish."_

 _"My.. Wish..?" I asked, a tiny bit confused, "What are you talking about?"_

 _"Oh.. I knew this would happen... My dear.. You've lost your memory of home, haven't you?" She asked._

 _"I... I don't know Gran.." I murmured, my fingers brushing over my necklace._

 _"Millie, listen to me very carefully, okay? If you want your memory back then you must go back home. But you won't see Sophie or Lettie ever again, okay? But if you want to be with your new friends, you can never remember who you really are." She told me._

 _I blinked a few times, staring into her eyes. "What..?"_

 _"I can tell you one thing that won't send you back. You are capable of protecting your friends and yourself. Remember that necklace of yours. And just remember my words. Magic must be filled with love and good feelings. Never anything back like hatred and anger. Those will harm you in the end."_

 _I slowly nodded, watching as she started growing bigger than me. I was back to my doll size.._

 _"Now, Millie, you must return back to Sophie, okay? I'll see you next time you fall asleep, okay?"_

 _Another nod._

 _"Good. Oh! And another warning. Keep your thoughts to yourself, Sophie and Calcifer. If others hear you, they may figure you out before you do. Not even Howl must know, okay?"_

 _Why...?_


	5. How?

I felt Sophie stir awake, humming slightly as there was another knock on the front door. We both looked over, though Sophie was a little more preoccupied with stretching, her joint making audible cracking sounds.

I cringed a little bit and carefully slipped off of her lap, about to head over to the window to see who was outside, but me and Sophie both heard some footsteps heading to the staircase and we both decided against facing whoever it was.

I collapsed to my bottom with a little clatter, leaning against the chair leg Sophie sat in. Said woman got back to looking like she was asleep and let one of her arms hang down next to me, making it seem like she had simply dropped me. She snored loudly just to be sure it was realistic.

"Hey, who's this lady?" A small boy's voice came. I had to guess he was talking about Sophie.

I glanced to Calcifer and thought _'Don't give us away, please.'_

He seemed to listen and got the boys attention back to the knocking, "Porthaven door." He stated, just ignoring the original question.

"How'd she get here?" The boy asked again, walking past Sophie and glanced back as he pulled a cloak around him.

He took notice to me and paused for a second, staring a bit longer than he would have wanted, before going back to answering the door. He pulled the hood of the cloak over his head and a big grey beard appeared over his face.

"Stand by." He stated in a thick, low voice.

I sat upright and looked over as he turned the knob on the door, a spinning wheel above the door changing so the arrow went from green to blue. I slowly got myself to stand up, trying to look at what was going on.

The young boy opened the door, greeting a man on the other side. It looked like it was the Mayor of some city and a soldier.

I quickly and quietly hurried over to listen in on what was going on.

"Good afternoon, sir. Would the Great Wizard Jenkins be at home?" The Mayor asked.

"I am afraid that my master is out at the moment. I speak for him in his absence."

The Mayor pulled out an envelope and handed it to the boy, "An invitation from his majesty, the King. The time for war is upon us. His majesty requires that every witch _and_ wizard aid our homeland." He told the boy, "Wizard Jenkins must report to the palace immediately. That is all."

The boy nodded and closed the door as the Mayor left. Thankfully, the man hadn't noticed me at the top of the little staircase, but I couldn't hurry back to Sophie in time before the boy saw me.

"A living doll...?" He whispered, moving up the steps and watched me run back to Sophie. His eyes went to her as she fed Calcifer more wood, keeping him alive.

"What do you think you're doing here, grandma?" He asked, still wearing the disguise.

"Calcifer said we could come inside." Sophie replied.

"I did not!" Calcifer stated, looking at the boy, "They just wandered in here from the Waste!"

"Their from the Waste?" The kid asked, pulling off his hood and making the disguise disappear. "How do we know she's not a witch? She has a living doll with her!"

"Do you really think I'd let a witch in here?" Calcifer asked, very annoyed by the idea. Sophie just chuckled in response.

The doorbell rang and Calcifer spoke up, "Porthaven door again."

"Must be a customer." The kid replied, putting the letter into a big, old book. He pulled his hood up and his beard appeared again.

"Stand by." He repeated the same words as before and opened the door back up, a little girl on the other side this time. "Yes, my dead child?" He greeted.

"My mom sent me to pick up a spell." She replied, sounding very polite.

"Ah, yes. Do come in." He nodded, allowing her inside and walking up the steps.

He looked over at Sophie and me, but directed his words at Sophie, "Keep quiet and don't cause any trouble, grandma."

The little girl followed him inside, stopping to stare at Sophie for a few seconds. Her eyes then filtered to me and lit up a little bit.

"Pretty dolly.." She murmured, smiling to me and waving at me.

I returned the smile and waved back, surprising her a bit.

My eyes went to Sophie as she walked over to the window and looked outside, seeing that it was no longer the wastes and making such comment. I followed and jumped up, grabbing the edge of the window and forcing myself up to be able to look outside.

She was right... It was the ocean..

"Excuse me, granny. Are you a witch too?" The little girl asked, looking at Sophie.

My friend was a little surprised by the question and turned to the girl, grinning at her. "That's right. I'm the scariest wiiiitttccchh of them all!" She stated, "And this is my little enchanted doll." She introduced me, causing the girl to giggle a little bit.

She could tell that it was an innocent joke and smiled as the boy in the disguise walked back to her and handed her a small bag, giving her instructions on how to use the spell.

She nodded and paid him, leaving through the front door.

I decided to stay at the window, pulling myself up more so I could simply sit and watch her leave off to wherever she had come from.

I stayed out of the next conversation as the boy scolded Sophie and she tried to defend herself, which had beem quickly shot down by him.

I leaned my head against the glass of the window and watched the outside. My attention was caught for a moment by a bell ringing, making me look away just long enough for the scenery to change once again.

As I looked back, my eyes widened slightly. It was a completely different city! We were now at the royal city!

Then I saw the scenery change again in the blink of an eye back to the Wastes. And then to Porthaven again.

I turned my head to look over at Sophie as she turned the knob a few times, only to be stopped by the boy, looking very angry.

I hopped down and looked down at her, standing on the other side of the stairs as the boy.

"Leave it alone. I'm getting angry." He stated.

"This is a magic house, isn't it?" She asked.

My shoulders rose and fell as I silently laughed at her question. Of course it was, Soph. The boy, on the other hand, was not amused and groaned in annoyance.

"So tell me, where does the black one lead?" Sophie questioned.

"Only Master Howl knows that." He replied, walking away and somewhat ignoring us now, "I need some breakfast. I'm starved." The kid grabbed a plate with a large piece of cheese on it along with some bread from a drawer.

Sophie sorta followed him and found some eggs and bacon and looked confused, looking over as the boy cleared the table and placed down his 'breakfast'. "Wouldn't you rather have some bacon and eggs?"

"Yeah but we can't use the fire. Master Howl's not here." He replied, ready to eat.

Sophie hummed some and found a skillet, picking it up and carrying the basket of eggs and the plate of bacon over to Calcifer. "Don't worry, I can cook."

I smiled and hurried to the fire pit, climbing up onto the edge next to her.

The boy wasn't really having any of it. "It doesn't matter. Calcifer only obeys Master Howl."

Calcifer glared at Sophie, "That's right, lady! I'm not taking any orders from you!" He stated, blowing a raspberry at her.

Sophie ignored their words and focused on her beginning to cook. She rolled up her sleeves and tried to push the skillet into Calcifer's face, but he was not going to give in.

I put my hand up to Sophie to stop her from saying something and looked at Calcifer. _'Calcifer, their awfully hungry. And how is Sophie supposed to break your curse if she's hungry? I may be able to take over, but I'm still a simple doll, you can't expect me to break a curse when I might just break myself somehow.'_ I told him.

He opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out. I looked at Sophie and nodded to her, allowing her to take over.

She smiled back and shoved the skillet into Calcifer's face, him giving in easily and letting Sophie cook. But he wasn't happy.

The boy was.. Shocked. He had no idea where that voice had come from, seeing as I hadn't spoke but he heard me talking to the fire. I really was a magical being. And what did I mean by breaking Calcifer's curse..?

The fire demon was unamused and glared at me and Sophie, "I never should have let you both in here.." He grumbled, "Here's another curse. May all your bacon burn."

Sophie was very happy as she put a slice of bacon on the pan, moving it around some to start cooking it.

I looked back over at the boy as he looked incredibly impressed and shocked, "Calcifer's doing what you say.." He murmured. Sophie informed him that she would like some tea and asked him to get the kettle.

Calcifer tried to tell him not to and stop him, but the boy didn't listen.

I looked over to the door as the dial changed again to the black color and the door opened. I stretched my neck a little bit, spotting the wizard that had saved me and Sophie walk inside.

My heart did a little leap and I kept my thoughts to myself, remembering the dream I had last night.. My grandmother warned me not to let my thoughts reach him... Why though..?

The boy took notice as well and looked at the wizard. And at this moment, as the boy spoke, I realized that he had been Howl..

"Master Howl! The king's messengers were here. They said you have to report to the castle as both Pendragon _and_ Jenkins." He told Howl.

Me and Sophie went silent as he walked over to us. Why was I relieved that he was Howl?

"Calcifer? You're being so obedient." Howl spoke, looking at the fire in amusement.

"Not on purpose! She bullied me!" Calcifer replied, glaring towards me. I simply gave a sweet smile.

Oh how I knew how to use the 'pity me' card...

I looked up at Howl as his eyes scanned me, raising an eyebrow. "Not just anybody can do that." He complimented, although slightly confused.

"And you are... Who?" He asked, looking to Sophie.

"Uh.." She hesitated, quickly making up a believable lie, "You can just call me Grandma Sophie. I'm your new cleaning lady. I just started work today." She introduced.

He then gestured to me, "And this is?"

"Oh.. Uh.. She's an enchanted doll I bought some time ago to help me clean. Her name is Millie."

Howl hummed a bit and stared at me, before turning his eyes to the skillet and moving Sophie over, taking the handle.

"Give that to me." He told her, being gentle as he moved her away and took over cooking, "Hand me three more slices of bacon and seven more of those eggs." He told her.

She took a moment, a little surprised before doing as he said, visibly trying to wrap her mind around why seven eggs..? And three bacon slices..?

I was just as confused. I couldn't eat so I had to process why he had told her to grab that many..

She still placed the three slices of bacon on the skillet and handed him one egg at a time. He cracked them against the side of the fire pit and emptied each shell onto the pan. He then gave Calcifer every eggshell which the demon ate quite happily.

"So then, who hired you?" Howl asked Sophie.

"U-uh, Calcifer did. He's disgusted by how dirty it is in here." Sophie replied.

Howl let out a little hum and turned around to look at the boy, "Markl, get the plates!" He ordered kindly.

"Wait a second, you're all gonna eat while I do all the work?!" Calcifer shouted, before grumbling to himself.

 _'Don't worry, Calcifer, I can't eat so I'll sit with you.'_ I told him, smiling sweetly to him. I was able to block Howl and Markl from my thoughts. Only Sophie knew what I was thinking to the demon.

Calcifer seemed fine with my words and became silent, us both watching the three. The fire demon went to his own thoughts as he did his usual thing, I guess, and ignored them.

I took notice to that Howl had Markl grab a fourth, smaller plate and put the extra egg and bacon slice onto it. He also had Markl pour a fourth cup of tea and grab a fourth utensil.

My eyebrows furrowed together some, tilting my head curiously. I would think that Howl was smart enough to not get me something to eat. I didn't need it now.

He cut a small slice of bread and placed it on the plate with the rest of the food.

Sophie took notice, but Markl took her attention away with offering her a spoon or fork, telling her the rest were dirty. Neither of them noticed as Howl took the smaller plate and grabbed a stool, walking back over to me and setting the stool in front of me.

I blinked a few times, becoming a bit flushed as he placed the plate and cup in front of me on the stool.

I could feel my heart pound against my tiny glass chest. I swore it would break through it was beating so hard.

My hands placed themselves over my chest, staring down at the plate of food, then looking up at the wizard again. His eyes stared into mine for a moment, a glassy look covering his eyes.

"I'm sure you're hungry, right Millie?" He asked, reaching forward and softly setting his hand on the side of my face.

I hesitated before realizing something and my eyes widened some.

I was hungry.. Incredibly hungry.

I slowly nodded and watched as he removed his hand and walked back over to the table, sitting down with his back to me and started eating his breakfast.

I stared a bit longer, my eyes moving from the back of his head to Sophie. She didn't seem to notice my confused look and focused on the two with her at that moment. My chest rose and fell with a fake breath as I reached down and picked up the fork in front of me. I took a bite of the bread, finding myself able to taste suddenly.

I let out a tiny gasp and started eating the bread and eggs and bacon. I was really hungry and I couldn't believe that I could feel like this now..!

My attention was on my food and I didn't hear their conversation. I just suddenly felt a bad sense and looked up, seeing an odd glow coming from the middle of the table, the three of them staring at whatever it was. I was curious about what it was.

Howl suddenly stood up and held his hand, "Excuse me, my friends, please continue your meal." He told them, picking up his plate and walking to the fire demon, dumping the rest of his meal into the demon's mouth.

"Calcifer, move the castle sixty miles to the west." He ordered, setting his plate down.

I caught sight of the burn marks on his palm and frowned, staring after him. I wanted to help him somehow...

Howl began up the stairs, keeping his hand covered. I could hear him let out a soft grunt and tense up slightly before stopping. "And while your at it, make hot water for my bath."

Calcifer started to complain multiple things, just starting to grumble to himself.

Markl gave Sophie a suspicious look as he spoke up, "You're not working for the Witch of the Waste, are you?" He questioned.

Sophie got incredibly defensive suddenly, "I would never work for that witch! She was the one who-..." She exploded, her lips sealing themselves so the only sound was her humming before she could tell him what happened to her and in extension me.

"I'm actually a-..." Sophie got fed up and suddenly stood from her seat and slammed her fists down on the table hard enough to knock down a bunch of books and papers and other items.

Markl managed to pick up his plate and scoot away, staring in shock and a bit of fear at her.

"If I ever get my hands on that witch, I'm going to wring her fat neck!" She shouted, before continuing to eat, much quicker than before. "Finish your breakfast!" She growled at the poor boy.

 _'S-Sophie..'_ I stuttered, unsure what to say now. At least I understood what she was thinking. Oh it was going to be a long day...


	6. Sophie Goes a Little Overboard

I helped Markl take things outside onto a spare table as Sophie started to clean the house. She was going absolutely crazy in there. I swore she was even going to sweep me out the door at times.

I carried some papers outside and placed them under a book so that they didn't fly away, watching the dusk clouds just flow out of the house.

Me and Markl looked at each other as we waited outside, one of us every so often daring to leave the safety of the streets and running inside to grab something important.

I was sure Markl was appreciating my help, seeing as Sophie was much too focused on making sure there was absolutely no mess inside. I wouldn't doubt she'd bite a bug or rodent's head off if she got a hold of it.

And elderly man walked up to Markl, whom was in his disguise and was bringing out a heavy book, and asked about his potion, surprising the young boy.

Markl shook his head and placed the book down, "Come back later. There's a witch on a rampage in there." He replied, which probably sent the wrong message to the man as he looked shocked.

I shook my head and went inside, finding a place to sit as Sophie started to mop and scrub the floor. It was beginning to look good, honestly. More homey.

I leaned back some and simply watched her put her all into scrubbing and mopping. She was definitely in a sour mood, according to her face. I'd only ever seen her like this once before. And that might have been my fault at some point.

She was scary like this...

* * *

I was worried.

Sophie hadn't fed Calcifer at all during the day whilst she was cleaning. He had maybe one log and even that was running out at this point.

I couldn't really help him since Sophie was putting things away and had placed him in a pot for the time being as she cleaned the fire pit from all the ash.

I bit my lip as I watched Calcifer roll back and forth before the little bit of left over wood broke and he fell inside. Sophie at this point had left to take care of the ashes she had cleaned out.

My eyes widened and I reacted without knowing what I was doing.

My little hands grabbed the pot handle and I pulled it down so that I could get into it. My little hands reached inside and I gently held a small round object that Calcifer's fire had enveloped.

I didn't wish to harm him, so I kept it in my palms and kept my hands flat. My lips made a little 'o' shape and I took a deep breath, somehow blowing a soft breeze over the blue flame, turning it orange and red again.

"Don't go out, Calcifer." I whispered, my mind not even registering I spoke.

I could feel the little object beat a few times and a numb, soft heat started flowing through my hands and arms. I wanted to protect it, to care for it. If felt fluttery like a small bird..

I closed my eyes, not registering someone walking over and place a few logs down in the pit.

I felt the fluttering thing leave my hands and someone place their hand on the top of my head, brushing my hair back some with their fingers.

My eyes snapped open and I looked at my hands, them feeling empty and cold again. I then turned my eyes up and saw Howl leaning over me, placing Calcifer back into his spot. He let his hand hover over Calcifer's flame and rose it up some, the fire following the gesture.

My hands slowly dropped and I continued to stare at Howl.

His face was blocked from my view for a few seconds, but as soon as I heard Sophie give a tiny gasp, I could see him smile, turning his head to look at her.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't torment my friend." He told her, his hand leaving the top of my head.

He cut his hair..? No, it was just straightened because of his bath.

I wanted to grab his hand again, to stop him and keep him there. But my hands wouldn't move. He had to go, I knew that somehow.. I couldn't do anything to stop his routine.

He walked away from me and past the two at the stairs. He closed the door, turned the knob to the black color. He paused when Markl asked if he was leaving.

"Markl, make sure the cleaning lady doesn't get carried away while I'm gone." He told the young boy, quickly opening the door and leaving, the door shutting behind him and the color automatically changing to blue.

"Sophie, what did you do now?" Markl asked, looking up at her, getting a little shrug in response.

"She almost smothered me!" Calcifer called, "If I die, Howl dies too, I hope you know!" He told her.

Sophie picked up her cleaning items and walked past the fire demon, "Ah, be quiet. You're alright. Now quit bothering me, I've got a job to do." She grumbled, heading to the stairs.

Markl ran after her and blocked her path, "Wait! You can't come up here!" He told her, looking VERY panicked.

Sophie had this knowing and amused look, watching Markl, "Whatever you don't want me to clean, you better hide it now." She warned him.

He panicked more and looked up the steps then to her again, "Save my room for last, okay?" He told her, running as fast as he could up the stairs.

She chuckled and I couldn't help but smile again _'I wonder what he needs to hide.'_ I mused. She chuckled and shrugged, "Could be anything, Mil."

Sophie continued up the steps and I decided to follow her, wanting to see what the upstairs was like.

I climbed up the steps some seconds after Sophie and began following her around. She was still so disappointed with how the place looked and opened a door at the top of the stairs.

Inside, there was an awfully _dirty_ bathroom, what looked like paint everywhere splattering the walls and ceiling and everything. Even the bath and toilet. There was still steam coming from the water, so we guessed this was where Howl took his baths.

It had so much clutter...

Sophie made a face as she looked around, it getting worse as she glanced into the toilet. Oh she was going to dread this room the most.

And I didn't really need to help her at all... She would probably get me to help, though. She knew I wouldn't just leave her to clean _this mess_ on her own.

She walked over passed the bath and to the window, opening it up and gasping as she looked outside.

I would not be able to jump to this window at my height, so I decided to find a balcony to look out from. I wanted to see what was so amazing.

Finding a door leading outside to a small balcony, I walked through. My eyes immediately widened and I hurried to the railing, grabbing the top rail and placing my feet on the bottom bar.

My mouth hung open as I stared at the **stunning** scenery around us.

The clouds that surrounded the castle, simply floating the opposite direction. The fields upon fields of the multiple shades of gorgeous green, speckled with spots of reds and yellows and any other color someone could think of. A river of light blue flowed somewhere below us, leading to an amazing lake a mile or so away from us. We were heading straight for it.

I'm even sure I've spotted some elk and other animals running around below. It all just felt so right in my chest. I absolutely loved this!

 _'Calcifer!'_ I gasped, jumping back down and running back inside and back down the steps.

I didn't even notice the sound of my bare feet going from the tinking of glass hitting wood to the sound of pattering of skin hitting the floor. Nor did I notice my view becoming taller as I went downstairs.

I instinctively grabbed the top of the wood railing and leaned over, grinning at the fire demon.

His eyes lit up as he saw my face come into view.

"Are you the one moving the castle?" I asked, getting a slightly sarcastic "Of course I'm the one moving the castle. No one else does any work around here."

I let out a audible laugh and continued to grin at him, a giddy flush entering my cheeks, "I am amazed by your work! I love your spark, Calcifer!" I praised, running back upstairs, just barely catching the demons happy 'She loves my **_spark_**!' I was soon back to the balcony where I found Sophie and Markl standing, looking out at the view.

I paused as I came back, my hands hanging onto the door. I closed my eyes a moment and calmed myself. Even if I was excited I still had to be careful I was still just a doll.

And when I opened them, I was as short as I was before... Maybe slightly taller.. I couldn't tell.

Markl looked back at me and grinned at me, "Isn't it beautiful, Millie?" He asked as innocently as possible.

I simply nodded and carefully walked over to the railing and held on tightly.

I took notice to a stick next to the balcony, an odd feeling in my stomach as I walked over and looked down into the hole it was stuck in.

 _'Sophie.. We seem to have a guest'_ I told her, getting her attention and watching as she walked over and grabbed it, having Markl help her get our dear friend Turnip Head unstuck.. Again...

"It's a scarecrow." Markl commented, confused.

"Yep, been calling him 'Turnip Head'. Somehow he keeps managing to get himself stuck upside down." Sophie replied.

Turnip Head was still for a moment before his smile grew wide as usual and then he bounced away from us, spinning once or twice as he hopped onto a huge pipe of some kind.

"He keeps following us everywhere. Seems to have taken a liking to me." Sophie commented, watching the scarecrow bounce.

"That's weird, are you sure you're not a witch, Sophie?" The kid asked.

Sophie looked at him and grinned, "Oh yes, I'm the worst kind of all. The kind that cleans." She leaned closer to his face, making me giggle internally.

Poor Markl sorta got scared for a moment, but then didn't find it funny at all.

"Come on you two, we need to finish up cleaning and start the laundry." Sophie told Markl and me.

* * *

As Calcifer settled the castle in the grass next to the lake, Markl, Turnip Head and I helped Sophie out with hanging the laundry.

Turnip Head took the job of stringing the ropes from the top of the castle to some large sticks me and Markl stabbed into the ground. He also helped when we needed to hang up the wet laundry.

Markl had to hold the other end of the rope at times and dealt with Turnip Head being a bit too strong at times.

And then I helped Sophie straighten the sheets and clothes and hang them on the ropes. We were just kinda relaxing with this chore. It was actually the easiest thing we had to do.

I rested in Sophie's lap as she just stared off at the water.

I was still small enough to sit in her lap and rest against her, so it was nice. Especially since she wrapped her shawl around me.

It was definitely getting late and we needed to eat, all of us pretty tired and proud of how well Sophie cleaned the castle in just one day.

My eyes were on some storm clouds that would be heading our way, maybe arriving during the night.

For the moment, Sophie and I just... Sat there at the water's edge and stared off. I could hear footsteps on the grass then sand and stones approach us.

Markl came into view, my attention going to him as he gave a kind smile to me.

I smiled back and slid out of Sophie's lap and looked up to her.

"We got all the Laundry put away, you two." Markl told us.

Sophie thanked him, looking to him for a moment. "When your old.. All you want to do is stare at the scenery..." She mumbled to him, "It's so strange. I've never felt so peaceful before."

 _'It is nice..'_ I nodded. I guess I didn't filter so only Sophie heard, because Markl gave a small nod in response to my words.

She took a second before standing, having Markl and me carry the chair back inside for her.

Calcifer was still very flattered by my words earlier, so he allowed Sophie to start cooking something for dinner for us.

She had gathered that I had breakfast this morning and had given me some of the dinner we were having, letting me stay in my spot next to Calcifer on the fire pit. I was a safe distance so she figured it would be alright.

After that, we decided to head to bed early. There was still a bit more chores to do the next day and we needed to finish up the major cleaning and a bit more laundry that we couldn't get to in one day.

Me and Sophie stayed in the living room, Sophie taking a place under the stairs where there was room for a bed and I took a spot next to the fire pit, closer to Sophie though.

My dreams.. Seemed to become weirder every time I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7 Filler and replying to reviews

**This is a little filler to give a little bit more between Howl and Millie. Although it's not very romantic, it's a little important to the story. You can just skip it if you want, but keep that in mind. It just gives them more of a 'connection'. And might explain a few things?**

 **It's being portrayed as a sort of dream sequence for Millie, so don't read this as the next morning.**

 **Also another note, I will respond to some reviews every so often at the bottom of my chapters, so please tell me how I'm doing!**

* * *

 _"Howl..?" I asked, looking up at him from the spot I had taken as my bed._

 _He grunted some, the feathers around his face falling back away from his eyes as he looked at me. I could see the hint of a smile on his lips._

 _"Millie." He greeted in a pained voice._

 _I slowly got to my feet and reached up to brush the feathers back, frowning some. "You look awful... And you don't smell that great either." I told him._

 _I heard him chuckle, gently moving my hands away. "Thanks. But I'm alright, Mil."_

 _I wasn't used to the shortened name coming from his voice, but ignored that for now. He was in pain and was trying to hide it._

 _He closed his eyes for a moment, the feathers covering his body turning into his clothes and hair and skin. "S-see? I'm fine."_

 _"Howl, please. I don't want you to do this to yourself."_

 _"Ah, but you know I have to, don't you?" He asked, taking seat in the chair that normally sat in front of Calcifer. He leaned back for a moment and then forwards again, placing his hands on my face._

 _"Although I see that you've grown a tiny bit since I left, huh?" He commented, brushing his thumb over my cheek._

 _I just stared up at him, unsure what to say at this moment. But then I had a thought._

 _"There's a war.. Isn't there?"_

 _He sighed, figuring it wouldn't do much to changing the subject again. "Yes, there is. I'm just trying to see what was happening. Don't worry, dar-"_

 _"And they attacked you..." I interupted him._

 _Howl had a shocked look on his face, but then noticed that my eyes were wide and had changed to a glossy and empty purple._

 _"Mil-?"_

 _"Other Wizards. Who had allowed themselves to change into those creatures for the king. Their monsters. They lost their memories. Their humanities..." I continued, "They want you to do the same thing, don't they?"_

 _"Millie, what's wrong?"_

 _"Don't go!" My eyes focused on him, the emptiness going away. "You can't do that, Howl!"_

 _"Millie, I promise I won't become like those other wizards and witches."_

 _Howl pulled his hands away, noting that they had become numb. He sat back again, a little sigh escaping him._

 _I couldn't place what he was thinking.. He soon stood without another word and told the fire demon to start up some hot water for his bath._

 _I followed his movements, but I coudn't get out another word. I was back to being mute.._

 _'Howl.. Please._..'

* * *

I was startled awake by the sound of water suddenly rushing upstairs and sat up from my bed, looking around the room.

I couldn't very much remember my dream, but I knew something was going far away and Howl knew what that was.

My eyes went to Calcifer, him staring at me for a few seconds before snapping his attention to the wood next to him, picking one of the logs up.

 _'It Howl back?'_ I asked him, Sophie's stirring making me keep my thoughts to a bit of a whisper.

"Yes and he's wasting all my hot water again." He told me.

 _'Alright..'_

I pushed some of my hair back, not taking notice to some of it having turned a silver color. It was very faint, though.

* * *

 **A/N: So that was the 'filler' part. Excuse it if it isn't the best, but it shows more about Millie that she doesn't know about yet.**

 **Plus her worry for Howl and him wanting to keep her protected. Especially now from this war.**

 **Alright, so! Review...!**

 **The only one to review so far has been...!**

 **HowlxSophie who had said in the last chapter;**

 _"_ _Wow, you added on a few new chapters in such a short while, and I can honestly say I your story. Normally, I would stop reading after the first chapter if it's Howl x OC as Howl and Sophie are my favourite anime couple( hence my weird username ), but your story's really good and it's really got me hooked."_

 **Thank you! I've been writing quite non stop (besides eating and bathroom breaks and internet eff-ups and sleeping). This is my first story that I've ever wanted to finish. And I have so many ideas for it!**

 **I also ship Howl and Sophie, as it is such a nice pairing, but at the same time, I didn't want to change up the original story to fit my ideas. Nor did I want to replace Sophie as a character. So I've added another one. It was kinda later as I was writing it that I decided to make it an OC and Howl pairing story, as it gave me that much more room to develop my lovely Millie.**

 **I'm also INCREDIBLY happy that I've hooked you with my story and that you've decided to continue reading. I have a few plans for later chapters, especially when Sophie is supposed to meet Suliman.**

 **I mean, if she is supposed to be Howl's 'mother' then would Millie play as something else to help him? Or will she even be going? Well you'll just have to find out as soon as I get to that point!**

 **nothing is planned and this is all things I think up as I write. I'm trying to keep it consistent though!**

 **Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and continue reading. And if anyone has suggestions or an idea, let me know in a review!**


	8. home

As soon as everyone was awake and my mind was off the strange dream, we decided to head out to buy some groceries at the market in Porthaven.

I discovered I was about the size of a child now, maybe a bit shorter than Markl still, so I could now go with them, as long as I didn't bring attention to myself.

Sophie gave me a dress that wasn't so 'puffy' at the skirt and Markl gave me a cloak to wrap around myself. It was long enough to cover the doll-like joints on my knees and elbows.

We just had to be sure I didn't draw attention to myself, so Sophie and Markl made up a story if anyone asked who I was. With Markl's disguise, he could play off as my 'Grandfather' and Sophie was my 'Grandmother' and that I was visiting them for a couple days while my parents were out.

We left the house and I stayed close to them, smiling innocently as we passed some people.

They appeared a little surprised at seeing me at first, but soon just smiled and greeted me. And I honestly became a little shy and kept myself a close to Sophie, hiding a bit in her skirt.

"Don't you love early morning markets? I mean just look at the water." Sophie suddenly spoke up.

I looked past her and blinked a few times, _'I've never seen the ocean before, it's really beautiful.'_ I told the both of them.

At this point, I wanted to talk more with Markl, so I decided to ignore my 'dream grandma' and trust him and Howl enough with my thoughts. What could ever go wrong?

Markl sorta grunted and grumbled under his breath "It always looks like that."

It smelt nice and I sorta hurried ahead a little bit, my eyes still on the water, then at them as I turned around.

Markl stifled a smile under his fake beard and looked off someplace other than me. I knew he wanted to follow me and run ahead, but he had to keep his facade.

We reached the dock and I led my two friends to a couple tables, pointing at some foods we could use. Even if I was a doll, I could still try cooking and I remember hearing a certain recipe somewhere for something like stew.

Sophie understood what I was doing and had Markl pay for the items I needed.

He grumbled about how he hated this and that, but I had a feeling he was just bored. Children always hated things if they were bored or found them meaningless.

Though I could agree with him about the fish as Sophie started looking through them. She picked up a orange-ish brown fish and gave it a good look over. She might have been interested in it, but thankfully our attention was pulled away as there was gasps and some people were running past.

I turned around and loved over, spotting smoke rising up from somewhere past a crowd of people.

A man ran by, stopping in front of the table with the fish and looking at the vendor, "Look's like there's been a serious battle." He stated, getting the interest and worry of the fish seller.

"Sorry lady, we're closed." He told us, scooting past his table and hurrying to go look.

A pit emptied itself in my stomach and a far off look came to my eyes.

 _"There's a war... Isn't there?"_

 _He sighed, figuring it wouldn't do much to change the subject again. "Yes, there is. I'm just trying to see what was happening. Don't worry, dar-"_

My senses came back as Sophie lifted me into her arms and hurried to follow Markl when he wanted to go see what was happening.

I glanced to my friend, a little confused but paid no more attention to it than that. Instead, my eyes landed on the boat that was slowly coming in, surrounded by other, tinier boats.

It was starting to sink lower and lower as it floated further into the harbor. Sailors on the ship started to panic and throw themselves off the side and into the water, all of them landing relatively safely and swimming to the smaller boats and some daring to swim all the way to land.

Me and Sophie were absolutely horrified by the scene. That there was a battle somewhere, while Markl on the other hand was curious and interested.

He asked if we could move closer, almost taking a step further, but Sophie grabbed his shoulder, shaking her head.

As he turned around to ask again, he took notice to the fear on my face and the glossy look in my eyes. _'Please.. Let's go home...'_ I begged.

He didn't ask again and instead went silent, that is till Sophie looked over to her left and got even more startled. She tensed up and pressed herself against the wall behind her, making me squeak audibly and look at her.

I followed her eyes as she glanced over and spotted one of the Witch of the Waste's henchmen. He was just looking around at the scene, not even phased in the slightest about the potential danger these people on the ship were in.

 _'The Witch's henchmen..!'_ I gasped, becoming as tense as Sophie.

"There's one to our left, be quiet, Markl." Sophie told the young boy as he went to question me.

He jumped a little bit and slowly looked over, as did Sophie.

The Henchman didn't seem to find what he was looking for and turned away, walking off in the opposite direction as us.

We collectively relaxed, us each confused as to how no one seemed to notice the blob man.

But once again all of our attention was caught by something else, something worse than the blob man.

The whistling of dropped bombs falling from the clouds above us.

Everyone around us all looked up and watched in horror as bombs dropped into the water, exploding on impact.

People began panicking and ran back to their homes, fearing of more bombs being dropped.

Only three hit the water and they barely missed the already destroyed battle ship.

Sophie and I cringed, trying to move further into the wall behind us for protection, staring at the water. I saw Markl's hood fall back and with it the beard left his face.

The boy pointed at the sky and told the both of us to look up to the sky at an enemy airship.

We did so and saw the silver aircraft flying over head, something starting to come out of the back. It didn't take my to realize they were flyers of some kind for this war.

Sophie was not going to be staying there any longer and held me tighter against her, rushing back to where we came from back to the house.

"Sophie! Wait up! Sophie!" Markl called after us as he carried the basket of our food with him.

I heard some police officer talk about how the flyers were enemy propaganda and that people needed to ignore them but I couldn't help but wonder what they really were.

I wouldn't get a chance to read whatever it was as Sophie carried me past the doorway and allowed me to walk on my own up into the main room. I looked over to the other two as they followed me inside, Sophie being a little out of breath.

She climbed up the steps, panting some. Markl asked if she was alright and she nodded. "Yes.. I just need some water."

I decided to help her and hurried over to the sink and grabbed a cup. I turned on the faucet and water began flowing, allowing me to fill the cup up.

I walked back over to her with it as she sat down with a small sigh, offering the cup up to her.

"Thank you, Millie." She nodded to me, taking a sip.

She almost choked on the water when Howl suddenly screamed and we heard him running down to us. He just cried, bumping into the walls a few times.

We were all staring wide eyed as Howl ran down the steps. His hair was a shade of ginger that kinda looked nice and he was... Not wearing anything but a towel around his waist.

Although I got really flustered and embarrassed over this, his shouting made me more curious. And why did his hair change colors?

He stopped in the middle of the stairs and leaned over the railing, glaring daggers at Sophie.

"Sophie! You sabotaged me!" He claimed, grabbing at his hair and running down the rest of the steps and towards her, "Look! Look what you've done to my _hair_!" He shouted, running at her which got her to stand up from her seat, basically pressing the top of his head against her face.

I interrupted Sophie, speaking to him before she could, _'It's such a lovely color.'_ I told him, which seemed to make him angrier.

He snapped his head to look down at me, glaring just as hard at me as he had at Sophie.

"It's hideous! She completely ruined my magic potions in the bathroom!" He snapped at me, realization coming to him and then a worse look coming to his eyes, "And _you_ helped her, didn't you?!"

I flinched, closing my eyes tightly.

I felt them water over somehow, Sophie being able to tell I was **INCREDIBLY** uncomfortable with being yelled at.

"We just organized things, Howl, nothing's ruined." She defended, trying to sound sweet but she was a little angry with him.

"Wrong! Wrong!" Howl looked back at her, his expression becoming sad and hopeless, tears coming to his eyes as he still glared at her. "I specifically ordered you not to get carried away!"

I opened my eyes and watched as he started getting dramatic over his hair color and fell into the chair, "Now I'm repulsive.." He whined, "I can't live like this.."

"Come on, it's not that bad." Sophie told him.

He just kinda... moped in the chair, holding his head in his hands, the color of his hair changing from the red-orange to a violet then settling on a jet black.

Me and Sophie breathed and tried to get him to calm down.

 _'H-Howl, it's changed color again. You sh-should look at it now!'_ I nervously told him.

Sophie gave a nod but was shocked at Howl's response.

"I give up.. I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful and loved.." He whispered, the room suddenly becoming warped around us.

I fearfully glanced around the room as shadows began coming out of the cracks in the walls. They contorted and shaped themselves into different forms, moving around us evilly.

"Whats..." _'Going on..?'_ I asked, my voice actually coming out at first.

No one noticed.

"He's calling the spirits of darkness. I saw him do this once after a girl dumped him." Markl explained to us, watching it all as the shadows pulled themselves off the walls and floated as black mist.

My body started to shake as I walked towards Howl.

"C-come on.." I squeaked, " _'Howl...?'_ We can _'just dye'_ your hair." I told him, placing my hand on his arm.

Sophie and Markl watched as my voice came into their mind and went out of my mouth every other couple words and my body grew a little bit more.

I felt something slimy get between my fingers and over my palm and I gasped a bit, pulling my hand back and looking at the green goop covering my hand.

I stepped back as soon his entire body was covered in the slime and it was dripping down off his hair.

My breath became erratic as I got fed up and a little over-emotional.

" _Fine!_ " My voice came through from my head and my throat, " _So you think_ _ **you**_ _have it bad? I've_ _ **never once been loved in my entire life**_ _!_ " I snapped, shutting my eyes as I turned around and ran to the door.

" _I've had enough of being here with_ _ **you**_ _Howl!_ "

As I turned the dial to the green, it changed to a pure white, the wheel above me spinning like crazy.

"Millie! Wait!" I heard Sophie and Markl yell after me.

I ignored them and opened the door, tears falling from my eyes as I hurried out. The door slammed behind me.

I ran. As much as I could. Pain was beginning to rise from my feet to my legs and onward. I ignored it though.

I somehow knew where I was going and no one was going to stop me from going there.

"Grandma.." I panted, little sobs escaping my body as her form, sitting at a small table, came into view.

Her eyes widened and she suddenly stood up from her chair, both that and the table disappearing.

"Millie...! What are you...?!" She gasped, kneeling down and extending her arms.

I started to cry harder, rubbing my eyes with my tiny hands.

The world around us started coming into view and we were standing next to a small cottage in a field somewhere. It was her old home where I used to live with her at.. I went into her arms, feeling her lift me up.

"Hush... Shh..." She held me close to her chest, kissing the top of my forehead.

"Don't worry, darling... I'm here..." She whispered, her voice smooth and soft.


	9. Chapter 9 Missing Millie Filler

**_Sophie_**

I watched as my friend left the house, her breakdown heard in both mine and Markl's heads. It echoed over a few times and I could feel my chest tighten.

 _"I've never once been loved in my entire life!"_

I knew that was a lie. Me and Lettie loved her. I'm sure even Markl and Calcifer loved her. And I knew about her grandmother, so I knew she had loved her as well...

My feet moved on their own as I hurried past the misty shadow spirits, making my way to the door, my eyes landing on a small object on the floor. I recognized it instantly as Millie's necklace with the stone on it and became more panicked. She would never leave this behind...

I knew, at least I thought I did, she had turned it to the Waste's setting on the knob and followed her outside. I took the necklace with me, wanting to be able to give it back to her.

As soon as my feet landed outside the castle, I was in the rain. It had begun pouring down quite hard, making it difficult to see too far.

"Millie! Millie, honey! Please come back!" She called out, her chest aching at the thought of my porcelain body falling and shattering..

I hurried to the lake, wandering along the edge. I was half expecting to find her just sitting, curled up into a ball, crying in the grass. But no matter how far I went to either side.. She just wasn't there.

My shoulders started shaking, the rest of my body following as I figured she had either ran much too far for me to follow or she had... fallen into the water...

Tears escaped my eyes and I started breaking down, gripping the chain and stone tightly.

I slowed to a stop back toward the front door of the castle and began to cry.

I couldn't lose my friend...

* * *

I heard the familiar sound of Turnip Head hopping towards me.

I had stopped crying by this point and simply stared off towards the water. It was still raining and by now I was absolutely drenched at this point, but my scarecrow friend had brought an umbrella out for me.

I looked up and offered a smile to him, "Thank you, Turnip Head. How'd you get to be so kind?"

He seemed to smile back down at me and just stood there with me. He seemed to understand that I needed time to think about where my friend may have gone now. I still had to have hope she was okay.

I closed my eyes for a moment before hearing Markl call my name and run out to me.

"Sophie, get back inside! Howl's in trouble!" He told me, tugging at my dress some, trying to lead me to follow him.

"Alright.. I'm coming." I nodded, starting to follow him back to the door.

I paused after a few seconds and looked up to Turnip Head.

"If you could be so kind as to just look for my doll friend..?" I asked him, watching he dropped the umbella into one of my hands, spinning around once and hopping off.

I smiled and closed the umbrella again, slipping the stone and necklace into my pocket as I followed Markl inside.

He opened the door for me and allowed me in first and then closing it behind him.

A small sigh escaped through my nose and I placed my hands on my hips, staring at the scene in front of me.

Howl was slumped over and all that.. slime was pooling towards Calcifer, threatening to drown the poor fire demon. And not only that but it was also getting all over the floor.

Calcifer called over to me, begging for my help.

I let myself smile a bit, my shoulder lowering some.

"Such drama." I commented, not only talking about Howl, but everything in general.

"Is he dead?" Markl asked, looking scared for his master.

"No, he's fine." I told him, still smiling some as I rolled up my sleeves, "He's just throwing a tantrum. Come on, give me a hand." I told the boy, walking over to the big baby.

Markl nodded and followed me, helping me push Howl's chair over to the stairs.

From there I picked him up and had him lean against me. "Get the hot water running." I told both Markl and Calcifer.

"Right!" Markl called back.

I looked down at Howl as he was still slumped over on my shoulder. "Come on, Howl. You can still walk."

I heard the sound of something wet hit the ground and turned my head around, looking back to see that Howl's towel had fallen off from his hips.

Instantly feeling awkward and uncomfortable, I turned my eyes upwards and slowly turned my head so that I was staring at the top of the steps.

Thankfully it wasn't hard dragging him up the steps and into the bathroom, having Markl help me get Howl into the tub.

I decided to leave then and let the boy was Howl himself, "Get him cleaned up, Markl." I told him.

"I will." He said back, starting to do so whilst I closed the door and looked back at the trail of slime left behind.

I placed my hands on my hips, sighing in annoyance. "Now I have to mop again.." I breathed, heading back downstairs to grab the mop and a bucket for water.

* * *

 _ **Howl**_

As soon as I was feeling 'better' after my.. tantrum as Sophie so politely put it, I started looking at the item I managed to take from her.

The small stone that hung from the little silver chain...

"Millie.." I whispered out, staring into the shimmering surface.

Sophie had decided I needed to stay in bed for a while and I just gave in. I needed time to think..

I couldn't help but wonder if Calcifer could feel what I was feeling now.. The.. loneliness that came with the 'disappearance' of our dear doll, Millie..

I had to figure so much out. How to get Millie back and how I could respond to my summons from the king..

I was… so scared. I was always a coward, but for some reason this was so much scarier than normal.

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought back to a certain night days ago..

My hand with the necklace and stone I let fall back down, resting over my chest.

Her face was so cold then.. and her eyes.. I didn't want to think about that emptiness that filled them. What happened during that night..? What was she doing?

I had this feeling that it was a kind of magic, but I didn't know what kind. She just knew… Knew things I wanted to keep secret from everyone.

I knew she had power of some kind. And I knew she had no idea what that power was. It was a lost memory to her mind.

"Millie..." I murmured again, opening my eyes back up and looking at my ceiling, "Where did you go..?"

I needed to help find her. That was my plan. And until then, I had to deal with my summons somehow. Focus on what I had to do. My contract made it so I absolutely had to go, but I really didn't want to..

"Howl, I'm coming in." I heard Sophie tell me.

I hid the necklace under my blankets, watching my door open and the old woman walk inside.

That's when I had the idea.

* * *

 _ **Markl**_

"Markl.." I heard Sophie say my name as she saw me walk back inside.

I shook my head, looking away from her. I didn't want to see her disappointment again.

"Me and Turnip Head walked around for a while, but I don't think she's out there. And I'm sure he thinks the same thing. I'm sorry Sophie."

I heard her breath out, looking back at Calcifer. Other than that, it was silent between us all.

"Sophie.." Calcifer started, "Let Howl go out to find her. He has a better chance and can use his magic to look."

Sophie was still silent, not responding at all. She just... watched..

I couldn't understand why she didn't want Howl to find Millie and I started to get upset, wanting to yell at her to let my master help.

I guess Calcifer read my mind somehow, as he softly spoke my name. I looked at him and he simply shook his flaming head.

"I just..." I started, my anger turning into guilt and sadness almost instantly the words flowed from my mouth, "I just want to see her again!" I started crying, covering and rubbing my eyes with my hands.

"Oh... Markl..." I heard Sophie coo, standing from her seat and walking to me, pulling me into a soft hug, "It's okay.." She spoke softly, brushing my hair back some.

I tightly tried to wrap my arms around her, sobbing into her stomach. I barely knew the two of them but I was already so attached. Millie was so nice and helped me quite a bit, even when I hadn't originally liked her. Plus she stayed out of the way when I needed to do something and was all around a good person to talk to.

"Shhh..." Sophie hushed me, eventually getting me to calm down enough to only be sniffling. She didn't let go, though. She let me continue to hug her and softly hummed something.

"We'll find her, I promise." Calcifer hesitantly spoke up, making me peak over at him.

"Calcifer... I really hope so.." Sophie replied.

* * *

 _ **Calcifer**_

I let out a little sigh, just staring at the door leading outside.

Millie had left and it felt like I was already forgetting her face. Something wasn't right about where she went. I didn't even know what gate she passed through, but it was nowhere in our reality.

I looked over to where Sophie slept, frowning more than I already was. She was… The most heartbroken about Millie disappearing, but I could tell it was slipping from her mind as well, Markl's too. If we couldn't find her… Whatever magic that was plaguing our memories would destroy Millie's existence..

Being a fire demon definitely had perks with stuff like this. Especially since I felt like this had happened before, with someone else who'd.. Just left.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't remember.

But Millie was still fresh in my mind. The one thing I could see clearest were her eyes. All the emotions trapped behind the glass covering her real eyes.

I.. Wish I could see more than that. But for now Millie was fading and we needed to find a way to keep her from being completely gone.

* * *

 **UPDATE: 9/3/2016**

 **I had to fix this chapter quite a bit, so do read through Howl's and Caslcifer's parts. I apologize if this is... Confusing? Considering its a complete flip from what I had before, but this makes it much easier on me for the next real chapter!**


	10. Author's Note

**Not an actual chapter to the story, just a simple quick... Um... Hm..**

 **Like a little announcement? You can ignore this, as it won't have any story in it, but it could be important? Mostly about Millie.**

 **So, hello!**

 **I want to say that I realize I have a bunch of errors in my writing. And I sincerely apologize if it gets frustrating reading them. I'm sometimes writing late at night and I get tired, or if I'm ever forced awake by someone.. Which I was yesterday. So I was seriously drained right at the get go.**

 **I don't know exactly how a beta reader works, but if anyone reading could be so kind, I would absolutely love it if you helped me out a bit? Sorta like Beta reading but it's as your going through. Just... Type into into the review box the approximate line that you've seen the error at, as I can't... always find them myself sometimes. I am constantly going through and checking previous chapters or later chapters and I may have missed a few things here or there. Plus it eats away at me if I can't find the place I messed up.**

 **Whether or not you do, though, really doesn't matter. I will eventually find all the errors and fix them, it'll just take some time.**

 **Also I apologize for chapter 9 and how that was written in full. I may go and break that up into tiny filler chapters just so that it's easier to understand. I meant to put in the breaks on that story, but completely forgot as I decided there was a good place to stop for the night. Again back to that whole 'Tired = Errors' thing.**

 **Different topic!**

 **HowlxSophie, being my only reviewer at the moment (Besides that guest7 person that strangely disappeared? Sorry whoever that was, I read the review via Email and then checked the site but your review wasn't there), has brought up about Millie's eyes and her stone. And her basic appearance in general. (Along with being some help with a couple errors, thank you so much dear! As of this update, though, I haven't found that 'hos' yet, I'm still looking!)**

 **Anyways! I would like to not expand too much into the subject of your 'Millie-might-have-magic' idea. I can say that you have a very interesting way of thinking.**

 **I have seen things about that 'Alexandri Genesis' that could be true and things that disprove them. But the only reason I have given her purple eyes is simple.**

 **I love purple eyes.**

 **The different shades are incredible to look at.**

 **And now onto the 'magic' and even the silver parts in her hair.**

 **Although I will not be saying whether or not Millie has magic herself or in her stone or at all, I will say that.. There is indeed something going on with her, and you might be starting to catch on to whatever that is. And don't worry, she won't break the curse on Sophie as well as Howl and Calcifer.**

 **While I don't have the story itself planned, I do have it planned about her necklace and things to do with her grandmother.**

 **Her appearance!**

 **The reason I hadn't put much into what she looks like is because 1. When writing stories before, I would go a little 'detail heavy' about a persons looks or even their surroundings. And 2. Besides her eyes and the silver in her hair, I wanted people to think about what she may look like themselves. But this may upset some people? Since there's not much to go with her.**

 **I have taken your words to heart and have decided to use your suggestion of giving her black hair, because you are right about that having a good image. I had thought about blonde, but then gave it another thought and found myself agreeing with you. She looks better with that. So thank you.**

 **And now to the last bit of your review.**

 **I'm really happy that you find the pure amount of work I'm doing is inspiring! It flatters me quite a bit, even more so when you say that I'm a writer you're looking up to.**

 **I'm sure I've said this before, but this is the first story where I have inspiration and the determination to write till the story ends. I really hope I don't just suddenly stop... I've done that before and I've felt bad but I never have any ideas, so everything just falls through.**

 **I won't do this here.**

 **EDIT: Quick thing! For the entire day of 8/17/2016 I am not going to post anything!**

 **I'm going to relax and collect my thoughts before posting again, just so that this story doesn't move too fast in one direction. Especially if I get loopy and accidentally make it a really bad story.**

 **I want to make a good enough fanfiction to be proud of. So tomorrow, 8/18/2016, I will begin to go back through my story, fix things and possibly redo chapters 8 and 9 a little bit. Just so that it works out better for me and they get to be a tiny bit longer!**

 **Sorry if this makes you upset, but understand it's not only for the stories quality, but also for my health and state of mind! I'll get back to writing as soon as I can!**


	11. 2nd Update

**9/3/2016**

 **I AM SO SORRY FOR THE SUDDEN HIATUS THIS STORY WAS UNDER. CHAPTER 9 GAVE ME A BIT OF A HARD TIME FOR CHAPTER 10 SO I HAD TO GO BACK AND FIX IT UP.**

 **I want you all to know that I will not be abandoning my story just yet.**

 **I had a serious case of authors block (Plus school is coming back so I need to prepare for that Woop!) and I couldn't think of any sort of way for the next chapter to go. I have a few ideas for the ending and I don't want to just 'give up' on it.**

 **I want to thank those who have favorited and are following the story. Seriously, even with my sudden disappearance and hiatus, you decided to stick around and keep an eye on my story. So seriously, thank you all!**

 **I have gotten a few reviews talking about my grammatical errors and have decided to change one tiny thing up; what I'm typing into. Instead of my WordPad, I'm going to use Google Docs and then transfer it all over to my WordPad and then put it onto here. It's just a tiny bit longer, but I think it'll work out better that way? (im still trying to find certain errors and its making me so upset)**

 **Now I just have one more thing to say. Note how above I had said I have a few ideas for the ending? Well! I am trying to decide on which one I want to do. So I have decided to ask you guys.**

 **Should I go with and ending that would have the same ending as the movie? But in a very different 'tone'. It may help understanding with what had happened in the first chapter, so keep that in mind. (And if this is chosen, I will leave it open in the end for a few simple chapters.) AKA- The 'Darker' Ending**

 **Or would you like my ending? It's sweeter than the first choice and has a DRASTICALLY different tone (in my mind at least) than the first choice. This may go into more of Millie's grandmother and her necklace and a few other things, but it'll mostly be a nice calm close off to the entire story. This may have a few simple chapters here or there I might add in as I write other stories, but otherwise I don't think it would be continued much. AKA- The 'Sweet' Ending**

 **Please make a comment or something saying what ending you would like to see. (There's also the chance of both, but only if the ending that is chosen isn't liked and people want the other one. I will have them both prepared)**

 **Thank you and I will post the next chapter as soon as I can!**


	12. Back

"Millie!"

I looked up and over to my grandmother as she called my name, watching as she walked out of her home to where I was.

It felt like it had been forever since I last saw her, but I knew that was wrong. I'd been living with her since my dad brought me here. When was that..?

"Millie, there you are." She breathed, sitting down in the swinging bench next to me, "You need to answer me when I'm calling for you, honey."

I felt her fingers brush through my hair, smiling as she fixed some of the black mess back behind my ears.

"Sorry, Grandma." I apologized quietly, swinging my legs some.

"Are you still upset cause you lost your friend?" She asked, referring to my words when I had coming running to her earlier in the day. Or was it yesterday? Last week?

I nodded some, looking back out towards the forest I had come from.

I got upset with an imaginary friend of mine and had run from where we usually played... But now it felt non-existent in my mind, like there was no friend to begin with. Why was that..? They were just imaginary, shouldn't they not exist anyway?

Where did they go...?

"How... About we go and find your friend and talk it out with him?" She offered, always having believed me when I told her about all my stories I simply had thought up.

"I don't know..." I mumbled.

"You don't want to?"

"No.. I don't know how to get back.. I want to.. But I can't see the way.."

"Ah, I see." My grandmother nodded, although I'm pretty sure she was quite confused.

"There's something in the way.." My voice came out again, catching her attention.

My eyes were locked on something just past the treeline. It was both there and not there at the same time. It was living and imaginary. Existing then not. It wasn't scary, but it didn't make me feel good.

What was it?

"Millie, you have to push it away." I heard my grandmother whisper.

"I can't though..."

"Yes you can. Close your eyes and make whatever it is go away."

"I-I.." I stopped, deciding against fighting her. I just did as she said and closed my eyes. I thought about it, gave it full shape.

I couldn't make it out completely, but I knew it was someone there, standing in my way.

I quickly made the image go away with a shake of my head. And when I opened my eyes, the thing at the edge of the forest was gone too.

"Is it gone?"

I slowly nodded, looking around some. I couldn't find it anywhere. But I knew it wasn't just gone.

"Good."

* * *

I felt off as me and my grandmother walked through the forest. I was paranoid.

"Something wrong?" She asked, making me look up at her.

"There's something here and it's scaring me.." I told her.

"Hm.. Well, just make it go away."

"But grandma, it's always the same thing. It's like... A shadowy monster." I told her.

"A... What?" She asked, stopping and looking down at me.

"A biiiiiigggggg shadow! It's big and dark and scary looking!" I made a gesture to show her what I meant, though being a child, that was difficult.

She didn't respond. Just nodded and we continued walking.

I got a little scared and reached up, taking a hold of her hand.

It was cold.

* * *

"Grandma...?" I asked, rocking a little bit on a large stone. We stopped next to a river and I was playing with some stones I had found along the way.

"Hm?" She hummed back, looking around in the water. She took out a few stones, looked them over and then put some back while keeping the others in a small bag.

"Do you think this is okay? To be here?" I asked.

"As long as you're afraid, it's always okay." She said, then hummed some and looked over to me. "Why do you ask?"

"I miss them..."

"Who?"

"I can't remember..."

My grandmother chuckled some at that, "Well, when you remember, then you might be able to see them again if you wanted." She told me, leaning towards me and fixing some of my hair.

I nodded, smiling to her, "What do I do when I get back?"

"Forget."

"What?"

"Forget what's happening now. Forget me. Or you won't get to see whoever it is you are forgetting now. And you won't be happy anymore." Her voice was stern and firm, making sure that I knew. And I knew.. I just didn't want to.

I sighed, letting out a small breath and closed my eyes, nodding.

When I opened them, I was grown and standing back in front of the little cottage, looking at my grandmother as she was when she was in the hospital. She sat in the swinging bench like before. Her eyes were closed and she just looked.. so relaxed and calm.

Her eyes opened after a little bit and she smiled to me, gesturing for me to walk to her.

I opened my mouth but she quickly hushed me. "Put out your hands, Millie."

I did as she said, opening my palms and watching as my necklace was placed back into my hands. I hadn't even noticed it had been missing..

"You mustn't lose this, child. It's very difficult to get back if you do."

"Where did you find this?" I asked, looking down at it in shock and then quickly fastening it around my neck again, being double sure it would stay.

She shook her head, "That isn't very important, my child. What is important is what exactly you are running from? Hiding away here for?"

"Grandma... I told you, I can't remember."

She sighed, shaking her head, "You know that I can tell when you're lying, right?"

I tried to retort, but decided against it, and just nodded. My mind suddenly filled with what I was afraid of, or at least what I thought I was afraid of.

"So? Why are you running away?"

"It's not like what I thought it would be." I told her, wringing my hands nervously.

She gave me a look, gesturing for me to sit down next to her, "What did you think it would be?"

I took a moment to think.

"I.. Don't know. But I didn't like him saying th-"

"That is an excuse. Just because someone says something that makes you upset, doesn't necessarily mean that you need to run away from them. You can't just get angry over a one time thing." She scolded me, "Unless you expect to lose him as a friend."

"I don't... I wouldn't..." I tried to figure out what I wanted to say.

"You don't want to lose him?"

I nodded.

"You do want to return there, right? Why?"

"They.. They're my family.. And I miss them so much."

She smiled a little bit, "And who are 'they'?"

I paused a moment. I didn't even notice that the area around where we sat was turning dark.

"Ah... So... Sophie...?" I asked, looking to my grandmother, seeing her nod and continuing.

"Sophie and Markl.." I remembered the names, and soon the faces appeared as well in memory. My eyes started to light up as I remembered more and more. "Calcifer.. and... Ho... Howl..."

My body suddenly started to hurt me and I doubled over. "G-Grandma...!" I gasped, wrapping my arms around my stomach. I knew this feeling. It felt like glass was spreading through my skin.

Tears blurred my vision for a few seconds, then cleared again.

I looked up again when the pain subsided, finding that my grandma was now in a white outfit. I was so much smaller, like I was a child again. I knew I wasn't. I knew I was back to looking like a simple doll..

"My darling Millie. I know it's hard, and there will be plenty of things out there that will make you want to come back... But you know you can't. This time, I'm serious. You much forget about me and everything else from before. You won't want to remember." My grandmother said, softly brushing my hair back.

"Trust me, Millie, okay?"

I nodded.

Before i closed my eyes again, though, I remembered something and looked at her again. _'Wait, Grandma. Why did you tell me not to talk to Howl before?_ ' I asked her.

She smiled and laughed a little bit, "Oh right. I was wondering when you'd ask about that. I'm worried something might happen to you. But I guess it's a little too late for you to take back your actions. Just make sure your safe, darling." She told me. I felt that there was more to it than that.

But I decided that was the best answer I was going to get at this point and breathed out a small sigh, closing my eyes.

When I opened them again I was staring up at the sky. There were no storm clouds and instead it was clear and blue and warm.

.

And I didn't remember anything.

* * *

 _ **I'm so sorry for such a late and delayed update. This one is super short in comparison to the rest of the chapters. I meant to make it longer and extend this out some chapters, but then school got in the way and I kinda rushed it. I'm gonna try getting my bum back in gear and try to continue it as much as possible.**_


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